Galloway evicted from Big Brother house

Respect MP George Galloway has been evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house to face a barrage of criticism.

The Bethnal Green and Bow MP has been widely criticised for his decision to appear on the show, with many political opponents saying that he should have been representing his constituents.

However, he has been defending his decision to appear on the show, saying that he represented a "different kind of politics" and wanted to speak directly to people.

However, when shown a number of press clippings from newspapers during his time in the Big Brother house, after exiting the house, Mr Galloway looked shocked. When asked by presenter Davina McCall whether he was happy he had participated in Celebrity Big Brother, Mr Galloway responded: "Not after I've seen those newspaper cuttings."

Mr Galloway had been criticised for being absent from Parliament while still collecting his salary. A web site, entitled 'Get Back to work, George', has been counting how much of his £61,708 MPs salary he received while in the house. The final total upon leaving the house was £3,358.25.

However, speaking on Channel 4's Big Brother's Little Brother show, Mr Galloway said that he had not been paid his Parliamentary salary before he went on the show.

However, the biggest criticism of the MP has been his performance in some of the tasks on the show. Footage and photographs of Mr Galloway pretending to be a cat and drinking milk from the cupped palms of actress Rula Lenska and also dancing like a robot, while wearing a skin-tight leotard, alongside Eighties cross-dressing popstar Pete Burns, have made Mr Galloway a target for ridicule, particularly from political opponents.

There could be more bad news for the controversial MP, as it has been announced that the Serious Fraud Office is considering conducting an inquiry into allegations that Mr Galloway profited from the Iraq oil-for-food scandal - claims that have been strongly denied by the MP.

The Parliamentary standards commissioner Sir Phillip Mawer could also reopen an investigation into the allegations.

However, Mr Galloway was "delighted" to hear that the Daily Telegraph lost its appeal against a £150,000 libel award against him.

Mr Galloway was the first of two of the show's stars to be evicted last night, receiving 64.7% of the vote. American basketball star Dennis Rodman was also evicted.

(KMcA/SP)